“The rebels are Republicans now”: How right-wing populists colonized the political imaginary of rebellion

Abstract

This article introduces the concept of the political imaginary of rebellion and argues that contemporary right-wing populist parties have effectively appropriated this symbolic space, formerly more closely associated with progressive politics. In other words, ideas of rebellion and disruption of the status quo are now more frequently associated with the populist right than with the left. Drawing on examples from Western liberal democracies (particularly the United States and Italy), I argue that right-wing populism does not merely rearticulate discourses of rebellion but actively colonizes this imaginary by reshaping common sense, collective identification, and moral hierarchies, thereby producing concrete political effects. The article shows how this imaginary is productive, collective, normative, and contested, operating across institutions, media ecosystems, and everyday political practices. The argument is further developed by illustrating how this colonization has taken place, and continues to unfold, through three mechanisms that echo the rebel narrative: transgression, victimization, and the construction of the enemy-as-institution.